The present invention relates to the steering of a projectile. It is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with small projectiles such as would be fired from a gun, with the form of a bullet.
Although steerable projectiles are disclosed in, for instance, UK patent application GB2423502, such projectiles are unsuitable for adaptation into a bullet type formation. Active surfaces of the missile disclosed in that application are provided by canards which protrude substantially radially from the nose portion of the missile.
Further active surfaces are also provided at the tail portion of such a missile by means of tail fins which protrude radially from the missile. These radially protruding portions are incapable of being accommodated into a gun barrel without the very high likelihood of mechanical deformation or other damage. This will severely impact on the flight performance of the projectile.
It is desirable to provide a bullet which can be steered, to take advantage of developments in guidance of projectiles from a firing position. This can improve accuracy and, particularly in the context of military deployment, can enhance the effectiveness of the projectile as a weapon. In many circumstances, the element of surprise is very valuable to a user of such devices and inaccuracy (and therefore loss of surprise) is likely to lead to failure of the particular deployment circumstance.